150 years ago...

Starting on May 3rd, the soldiers of the 17th who had been captured during the fighting on the previous day begin their march to Richmond. For some, it means a march to the railroad near Guinea Station, where they are loaded onto trains to Richmond. For others it means marching on foot all the way to Libby prison, arriving there the following Saturday.

Lincoln, Gettysburg and 199 pages

November 18, 2012

Today I saw Lincoln at the movie theater. I’m not going to go into the movie review business (but I liked it). For some reason that made me remember seeing a story referencing a Massachusetts soldier who, having been saved from injury or death by his pocket New Testament, wrote the President about it and [...]

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Online research – or what 17thcvi.org means to the research world

October 16, 2012

Regular visitors to this site have probably noticed that there are few – a very few – sites and blogs listed on the sidebar. Some are there because they have some bearing on the 17th Connecticut and some are there because I like the content in a more general sense. The NPS blogs are listed [...]

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Can you identify this ribbon?

October 10, 2012

These photos were sent along by Bob Davis, with this note: “Tonight while searching a favorite thrift store I found a poster put out by the national tribune co for the Army of the Potomac. At the bottom it has a raised gold seal and states ” this is to certify, Sergt. Whitman Sackett served [...]

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The McDonough Post gavel

September 2, 2012

A little over 107 years ago, in August 1905, Edward M. Lees of Westport gave the gavel that had been used to call meetings to order at the McDonough G.A.R. Post in Westport to the members of the Buckingham Post in Norwalk. The two posts has merged recently as a result of dwindling membership in [...]

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150 years ago in Bridgeport

August 28, 2012

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the date over 1,000 soldiers were mustered into Federal service as the 17th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. For many this was their first service, for some it was their second or even third. On this August 28th let’s take a few moments to remember them. As my friend, 17th reenactor [...]

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Gettysburg musings

August 27, 2012

This morning my son and I headed down to Emmitsburg, Maryland so that we could retrace the route of the 17th CVI the morning of July 1, 1863. I did this once already about 9 years ago…but it was in February after a foot and a half snowstorm. Not surprisingly, it did not appear quite [...]

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What do movie critics understand about Gettysburg? More than you’d expect.

August 18, 2012

This post is a little off the beaten path from the others in that it has no direct correlation to the 17th CVI. Well,  perhaps a little more than is first apparent. The title of this post will become obvious by the end. I know the answer, at least with respect to one critic, even [...]

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150 years ago…

July 16, 2012

Although the sesquicentennial commemoration of the U.S. Civil War began last year, next month is the 150th anniversary of the organization this site commemorates. On August 28, 1862, the 17th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry was mustered into service at Camp Aiken (now better known as Seaside Park) in Bridgeport. Recruiting for the regiment began in July 1862 [...]

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The 1870 reunion photograph – anyone know where it is?

June 24, 2012

According to a reporter for the Danbury News writing about the 1870 reunion of the regiment’s veterans, at the close of the day a photograph was taken by “…one of the best photographers in Stamford.” The subject of the photograph – the veterans of the regiment and their colors (regimental and national). Since nearly 400 [...]

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The Gettysburg paintings of Frankenstein at the GNMP

June 9, 2012

There is a reason I include a link to the blog of the Gettysburg National Military Park (besides the fact that I can’t get to the park nearly as much as I’d like). Anyway, the latest post on the blog by Chuck Teague, a seasonal ranger and prolific poster to the Gettysburg Discussion Group list [...]

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